Movement in Asia’s 10 ppm sulphur gasoil margins and spot premiums diverged for the first time in three weeks on Friday, against a backdrop of late week oil price volatility and narrower backwardation swap price structure through the week.

The divergent trend was also attributed to firmer spot buying interest in the past week from one trader for June arrival parcels and some shortcovering for prompt cargoes.

Chinese export volumes for June are currently estimated almost steady from May at slightly below 500,000 tonnes, some industry sources said.

Cash differentials posted a second week of increments and closed the trading session at 16 cents a barrel, as buyers were not as aggressive as before after they had covered their requirements mid-week.

Refining margins closed the Friday trading session around 13% weaker on week, falling for the first time in four weeks.

Jet fuel refining margins fell 12% on week as thin trading activity continued to plague the market, despite a mildly open arbitrage to the U.S. West Coast.

Regional demand remains thin for spot lots and Chinese exports are likely to remain at slightly above 1 million tonnes for June loading, according to some industry estimates.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS

– No gasoil or jet fuel deal.

INVENTORIES

– Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area dropped by more than 6% in the week to Thursday to a four-week low, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

NEWS

– Oil prices were broadly stable on Friday, as the market weighed in on conflicting messages on supply from Russia and Saudi Arabia ahead of the next OPEC+ policy meeting, a stronger U.S. dollar and worries of weaker-than-expected demand growth.
– U.S. motorists are enjoying a so-called Goldilocks market, or one that is considered “just right,” for gasoline. Production is strong and prices are moderate. Product supplied, a proxy for demand, is up 2.5% year-on-year to 9.066 million barrels per day (bpd), according to the Energy Information Administration.
– Top OPEC producers and their main allies have given a raft of conflicting messages about next oil policy moves, making it particularly difficult to predict the outcome of the next OPEC+ meeting in early June.
Source: Reuters